Every manufacturer boasts that their supplements will boost your performance to help you hit your fitness goals, and the right supplement stack can supercharge your gains.
With so many fitness supplement producers out there, how do you choose which ones are effective for you?
The short answer is that workout supplements have pros and cons, and sometimes, it takes experimenting with different formulas and products to find the right combo for you.
In this post, we won’t tell you which supplements to take and which to avoid.
We will break down the pros and cons of fitness supplements to help you make a knowledgeable decision about the best supplements for yourself.
The Pros of Using Fitness Supplements
Before we get into the potential risks of taking fitness supplements, let’s break down why you might want to consider adding supplements to your regular routine.
- Enhanced Performance
Right out of the gate, supplements can enhance your athletic performance. For example, taking a pre-workout formula will give you instant results like:
- Increased endurance in the gym
- Higher energy levels while working out
- More focus while you push yourself
Other supplements, like creatine or prohormones, can boost your strength in less time than without taking them. You may hit strength goals that would be almost unreachable without them.
- Nutritional Support
Taking fitness supplements can also work in tandem with your diet. For example, these supplements may round out your diet in a way that whole foods may not.
Fat burners curb your appetite and prevent overeating by using stimulants that suppress your need for food.
Protein powders help boost muscle repair and growth if you don’t get enough of this essential nutrient from your diet.
Joint supplements with collagen and cartilage increase the production of vital tissue and improve joint health in ways that standard nutrition typically can’t.
When you find the right combination, your workout supplements become a powerful way to improve your overall diet while pushing the needle forward in your exercise routine.
- Convenience
Let’s face the facts — proper meal planning to hit your calorie count, macros, and micronutrients with whole foods is the ideal way to maintain optimal physical performance.
However, hitting every nutritional goal with your diet takes hours of preparation and isn’t always possible.
Adding workout supplements to your routine gives you a more convenient way to hit your nutritional goals, boost your performance, and achieve your desired results.
The Cons of Using Fitness Supplements
While the benefits of using fitness supplements are outstanding when used properly, supplements come with downsides if you aren’t careful.
Here are some of the most common cons of fitness supplements.
- Potential Health Risks
Some supplements can put a strain on different bodily systems, which increases the risk of potentially severe health issues. For instance:
Pre-workout supplements boost performance, but many have a high caffeine content that can cause increased heart rate, palpitations, and sleeplessness if misused.
Many fat burners also have circadian-rhythm-disrupting levels of stimulants and can cause anxiety or agitation if used too often.
The liver processes many supplements like prohormones, and extended prohormone use can hurt liver performance.
- Nutritional Imbalance
Taking too much of one type of supplement or not considering your diet when taking supplements can also disrupt your nutritional intake.
One typical example is whey protein powders. If you’re not careful, protein supplements can:
- Raise your cholesterol levels
- Prevent you from eating more nutrient-rich whole foods
- Throw off your allowed sugar intake
You can counteract these adverse side effects by being mindful of your overall diet, but it’s essential to track your supplement intake the same way you would track your food intake.
If you’re unsure how to track your nutritional intake, consult a doctor or nutritionist before adding supplements. They can help you determine the best routine to meet your needs.
- Potentially Costly
Good supplements aren’t cheap. Whether you want to drop weight, build muscle, or get that pre-workout boost, you will probably pay 50 cents to a dollar per serving.
The cost can add up quickly if you aren’t careful — you may pay tens to hundreds of dollars monthly on supplements, depending on your needs.
If you want to take supplements on a budget, try one of two things:
- Prioritize the performance boosters you need, and don’t stress about supplements that would be “nice to have.”
- Buy your supplements in bulk (it’s more upfront but saves money in the long run) or wait for sales to make a supplement purchase.
Make BDS Your Trusted Source for Quality Supplements
At Black Diamond Supplements, we have decades of experience in the workout supplement game. We aim to balance cost-effectiveness and quality with every supplement we sell and only offer tested and effective products.
If you want to learn more about our products or need help weighing the pros and cons of fitness supplements, contact us today!
